Aggression can also occur in groups of sows during feeding, which is a major concern in crate-free sow housing. A higher space allowance (≥32 ft2/sow) enables sows to access feeders and drinkers, lie comfortably, engage with enrichments, socialize with other sows, and move freely throughout the pen. Sufficient space also ensures sows can move away from each other, which is especially important during mixing and feeding. The pen layout in gestation crate-free housing should allow for separate areas for feeding, dunging, resting and mixing. Physical barriers, such as walls or straw bales, should be placed throughout the pen and provide cover for hiding.

Sow pens should have solid flooring with dry, clean bedding (preferably straw). Unfortunately, fully slatted floors are used in the majority of today’s sow housing due to the ease of manure management. However, fully slatted floors have a higher incidence of sow lameness. Solid flooring with ample bedding is more physically comfortable for the sows, which reduces hoof injuries and skin lesions, and also improves the sows’ thermal comfort. Straw bedding is particularly beneficial in encouraging the sows to forage, root, chew, and ingest the strafibrew, which improves the sows’ gut fill.

Providing sows with straw and other forms of dietary fiber helps increase feeding time, satisfy hunger, reduce aggression, increase resting behavior, and prevent the development of stereotypic behavior.

WELFARE-FRIENDLY ALTERNATIVES TO FARROWING CRATES

Concerns about the poor welfare of sows and piglets in farrowing crates have driven investment in commercial alternatives, such as free farrowing pens. Free farrowing pens provide privacy for the mother sow and her piglets while allowing the sow to move freely within a much larger space. More space allows the sow to have separate functional areas within the pen to perform different behaviors, such as nesting, dunging, feeding, and lying, allowing the pen to remain cleaner than farrowing crates. Sows are also given straw as bedding and to nest build.

In these loose pens, sows are less stressed during farrowing and lactation, allowing sows to nurse their piglets to heavier weaning weights compared to sows confined to crates. Additionally, the sloped walls in free farrowing pens allow sows to slide down into a lying position slowly and carefully, which reduces the incidence of piglet crushing.